St Michael & All Angels, Houghton le Spring
St Michael & All Angels, Houghton le Spring
St Michael and All Angels is a Grade I parish church on Broadway and Church Street, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, in the Diocese of Durham.
- Location
- Houghton le Spring, Tyne & Wear
- Country
- England
- County
- Tyne & Wear
- City / town
- Houghton le Spring
- Address
- Church Street, Houghton le Spring, Tyne & Wear, DH4 4DN
- Postcode
- DH4 4DN
- Built
- Late C12 and C13 chancel; C14 nave arcades and west wall; C15 and C19 vestries; C19 aisles, porch and upper stage of tower
- Architect
- Philip Hardwick (c.1860 restoration; tower alterations)
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Michael
- Diocese
- Durham
- Parish
- Houghton-le-Spring
- Grade
- I
- Style
- Medieval Gothic
- Materials
- Sandstone with Westmorland slate roof
- Grid reference
- NZ 341 498
- Opening hours
- Open from Easter to 31 October. Open from 11am to 1pm everyday except Sundays when it is open around service times or by appointment.
- Access
- Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets in church
Overview
Historic England records a late-twelfth- and thirteenth-century chancel, fourteenth-century nave arcades and west wall, fifteenth- and nineteenth-century vestries, and nineteenth-century aisles, porch and upper stage of the tower. Tower alterations are probably by Hardwick; the church was restored about 1860 under Philip Hardwick. The fabric is sandstone under a Westmorland slate roof. The plan comprises a four-bay nave with aisles and south porch, two-bay transepts, and a chancel with south vestries. The pinnacled two-stage tower is crenellated. Interior features include eight-shaft nave columns with fillets, a six-bay chancel with a small round-headed north door and tympanum, eight south lancets, and an octagonal font. The south transept holds the chest tomb of Bernard Gilpin (d. 1583), a brass to Margery Bellasis (d. 1587), and medieval knight effigies.